7/16: Mile 1340.7-1353.0 (12.3 mi.)Ascent: 1627′; descent: 2067′ 7/17: Mile 1353.0-1364.7 (11.6 mi.)Ascent: 2694′; descent: 2388′ Forget “Garden State”: New Jersey’s nickname should be the “Land of Characters.” Yesterday, we met Medic (also known as “Captain Crazy”), who’s as gregarious as he is mysterious, and as fit as he is astute. He’s been a fish […]
7/14: Miles 1312.8-1327.7 (14.9 mi.)Ascent: 2293′; descent 2474′ 7/15: Miles 1327.7-1340.7 (13.0 mi.)Ascent: 2051′; descent: 2073′ When traveling, I want to have experiences that are quintessentially “of” that place. I’m convinced that any stranger tuning into my life yesterday would be place me in New Jersey. To resupply and to refill our spirits, we stopped […]
Miles 1300.9-1312.8 (11.9 mi.) Total ascent: 1555′; descent: 1318′ I write from the mosquito capitol of the world, northwest New Jersey. At least ten of the obnoxious buggers are trapped between the netting and the rainfly of the tent, which we evidently didn’t shake well after it stopped raining at 7 a.m. today. Although we […]
7/11: Miles 1282.5-1295.7 Total ascent: 1019′; descent: 1981′ 7/12: Miles 1295.7-1300.9 Total ascent: 2204′; descent: 1770′ For the first time in at least a few weeks, we took it slow today. Although I hate to admit it, the stings and rocks and rashes and lack of sleep overpowered me. Five miles in, Rachel mercifully set […]
7/9: Miles 1259.5-1272.1 (12.6 mi.) Total ascent: 2412′; descent: 1294′ 7/10: Miles 1272.1-1282.5 (10.4 mi.) Total ascent: 1802′; descent: 2004′ Something I’ve been thinking about recently is how tightly place is tied to identity. Narratives about the same place may be both true and in tension with each other. Take Palmerton, where we resupplied yesterday. […]
7/7: Miles 1235.5-1248.3 (12.8 mi.) Total ascent: 2175′; descent: 1319′ 7/8: Miles 1248.3-1259.5 (11.2 mi.) Total ascent: 3558′; descent: 2107′ Today, Thursday, was a day of quiet luck. It poured most of the day; and yet didn’t while we broke camp, during a treacherous rock scramble, or while we set up again in the evening. […]
7/5: Miles 1215.5-1223.1 (9.5 mi.) Total ascent: 1903′; descent 2041′ 7/6: Miles 1223.1-1235.5 (12.4 mi) Total ascent: 1772′ descent: 2421′ Since yesterday evening, I’ve been fangirling about meeting Ann Neumann, author of “The Good Death” and a nonfiction editor at Guernica, on the AT. Ann, who goes by “Poison Ivy” on the trail, is accompanying […]
7/3: Miles 1196.1-1201.7 (5.7 mi.) Total ascent: 787′; descent 1027′ 7/4: Miles 1201.7-1213.6 (11.9 mi.) Total ascent: 1194′; descent 1033′ Fireworks, gunfire, or thunder: It’s the hit new AT game, best played on a cool, grey 4th of July like today. Episodes are as frequent and indistinguishable in rural Pennsylvania as they are in rural […]
6/30: Miles 1167.0-1179.1 (12.2 mi.) Total ascent: 1680′; descent: 1539′ 7/1: Miles 1179.1-1191.9 (13.5 mi., including detour) Total ascent: 2592′; descent 2041′ 7/2: Miles 1191.9-1196.1 (4.1 mi.) Total ascent: 610′; descent 574′ I can’t say these days have been much of a honeymoon. Rachel and I have been, in varying combinations and degrees, hot, sick, […]
Miles 1153.9-1167.0 (13.1 mi.) Total Ascent: 2231’; descent: 2736’ How wonderful it is to have a cold, gushing spring beside our tent tonight. The water table has gotten so low that we passed multiple dry springs today and had to rely on a trail angel for our midday fill. In the forecast are three and […]